Taking Care
by fandomfan13
Summary: "Now it was Saturday and her mom was leaving for Texas for a couple of days, so she'd asked me to take care of Emily while she was away. Well, it would be more accurate to say that Emily had insisted I be the one to stay over instead of one of her mom's old relatives. It took some coaxing... but Mrs. Fields had finally given the okay."
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! **

**So here's the first chapter of the story I was talking about. I wasn't planning on posting it just yet, or even writing it yet for that matter, until I finished On the Run, but this got into my head yesterday and wouldn't let me go until I wrote it out. Now that I got it out of the way I can get back to writing the next chapter for my other story. **

**Hope you guys like it! Please let me know what you think! :)**

**Enjoy! xoxo **

* * *

8:17am.

_Crap_.

I ran up those last few steps to Emily's house and rang the doorbell, cursing both myself for not getting my lazy ass out of bed when the alarm went off and the weather for being so unnaturally cold for fall. We were half way through November and it was already one of the coldest freaking winters we've had in years. It had yet to snow, thank God, but weather broadcasters were already predicting snowfall towards the end of their ten day forecast.

I shuddered when a strong gust of wind tore through Emily's front porch. I blew into my cupped hands before wrapping my arms around myself and rubbing my hands over my arms, adjusting the bags hanging on my forearms and praying that someone would hurry up and open the damn door – even through the long sleeves of both my dress and my coat, I could feel the cold seeping in right through to my bones.

"Alison!" Mrs. Fields finally opened the door, greeting me with a warm smile. Her eyes widened as the wind picked up again, sending a cool draft through the door. "Goodness, it's cold outside! Come in, come in. You must be freezing!"

"Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Fields." I said as she ushered me inside, sighing when warm, cozy air fanned into my face. I caught sight of the fireplace crackling softly in the living room and the air smelled sugary sweet, already reminiscent of the holidays to come. Emily's place was always the homiest out of all of our houses, a fact I was recently very thankful for since my own house was everything but these days and I found myself finding refuge here more and more often.

"Oh, it's no problem at all. In fact, I was running a little late myself. Here, I'll take these," Mrs. Fields grabbed the bags out of my hands and gestured to something behind me. "And you can put your coat and scarf over there on that rack if you want. Let me just put these here," She placed my bag on the couch as I dropped off my winter clothes by the door. I turned back to find her by my side, placing her hand on my shoulder and leading me towards the kitchen. "I have some hot chocolate for you girls in the kitchen. I thought it might come in handy with this weather we're having lately, plus seems it's the only thing Emily can hold down early in the mornings."

"Oh, is Emily up already?" I asked, surprised.

"I wanted to make sure she took her medicine before I left," Mrs. Fields replied, though by her tone I could guess she'd had a hard time doing so. "She's not very happy I woke her up for that but – well, you'll see in a second."

I smirked, imagining exactly how happy Emily was with being woken up at this hour, especially for medicine.

Emily had come down with what the girls and I had dubbed as the mother of all flus brought on by the mother of all cold fronts. She'd come to school on Monday looking tired and run down, complaining about not getting any sleep the night before. The other girls had immediately turned to me with suggestive eyes, since it was nothing out of the ordinary that we both arrive to school lacking sleep from any…stimulating activities we might have managed to sneak in the night before, but this time I'd sincerely had nothing to do with it.

During the day she was a wreck. She always sits in front of me during our history class – which this year is like the most boring class in the entire curriculum – and ever since I could remember, she would sit behind me in every boring class and play with my hair per my request. Only now that we're together I've gotten to sit behind her for a change and keep myself busy while our teacher blabs on. Emily loves it when I play with her hair, and normally it just keeps her in a daze while I do it, but that day it barely took five minutes of me touching her before she was out like a light. And later that day in study hall, we'd agreed to review for a chemistry test we had on Wednesday, but as soon as we sat down, she laid her head in my lap and zonked out before I could even open my text book. By the end of the day I'd had to drive her home because she could barely keep her eyes open.

Then on Tuesday she arrived late and only stayed for half the day, since she spent third period throwing up in the bathroom with Spencer holding her hair back. Her mom picked her up after that and she hasn't been to school since. I called her every single day to check up on her since I was having some serious Emily withdrawals, but on Thursday she called me instead to ask me to stop by because according to her, she missed me like crazy and was a few attempted sponge baths away from strangling her mother.

Now it was Saturday and her mom was leaving for Texas for a couple of days, so she'd asked me to take care of Emily while she was away. Well, it would be more accurate to say that Emily had insisted I be the one to stay over instead of one of her mom's old relatives. It took some coaxing, now that we were officially together and her mom knew the extent of our relationship, but after Emily begged for a solid three hours – and I know this because she had me on the phone while she did it – Mrs. Fields had finally given the okay.

We rounded the corner to the kitchen to find a sight that both warmed my heart and made it clench in sympathy. Emily was sitting on one of the stools at the counter, both hands folded out in front of her with her forehead resting on her arms, three pills and a glass of water placed by her head. By her breathing, which sounded uncomfortably congested, I could tell she wasn't fully asleep, but she was well on her way.

Mrs. Fields sighed in exasperation, taking four steps in a stride to stand over her daughter authoritatively. Leaning against the door frame, I winced to myself for what was about to happen. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"Emily," Pam shook her daughter's shoulder forcefully, startling the poor girl awake. "Take your prescriptions, I'm not leaving here until you do."

Emily groaned, only readjusting her head on her arms without looking up at her mother. "I'm sick of these pills, they're messing up my stomach."

"The pills aren't messing up your stomach, Emmy," I grinned at that nickname, knowing how much it annoyed Emily when her parents called her that. For a while I started calling her that too just to take the mickey out of her, but she'd threatened me with no sex for a week, and – well, nothing would really be worth that in the long run. "The flu is, and you're never going to get better unless you take them and unless you _eat_. So hurry up, you're going make me late for my flight."

"No."

Pam turned to me with a pointed look, mouthing _See?_ as she rolled her eyes. I smiled and silently gestured for her to let me try. She gave me a nod and stepped around the counter to grab something from the cabinets over the stove as I pushed off the wall and silently padded over to my drowsy girlfriend. I had a feeling Emily had yet to realize I was there, and something told me she'd soften up once she saw me.

I placed my hand over the fingers peeking out from under her elbow and leaned down to murmur in her ear, "Take your meds, Emmy, I can't kiss you if you don't."

What would have been a sharp intake of breath came out sounding more like her trying to breathe through her clogged up nose, but I'd barely gotten my sentence out when she looked up at me with the biggest smile I'd seen on her since she'd gotten sick. It took two seconds for her brow to furrow as she realized what I'd just called her, to which I only responded with a smirk.

"Did you just call me Emmy?" she asked, and she would have succeeded in sounding vaguely threatening had she not hiccupped afterwards.

"Hi, baby." I laughed, cupping her face in my hands and kissing her forehead softly. Her cheeks felt unnaturally hot against my palms, and now that I looked closely I noticed a reddish haze tinting her skin. I turned to Pam with a worried frown. "She's really running a fever, huh."

"Of a hundred and one." Mrs. Fields replied with a nod. She was filling two mugs with steaming hot chocolate from a pan that had been standing on the stove, and she topped them off with cinnamon before pushing them towards us.

Emily reached for her mug, but I grabbed the pills from the counter and quickly pushed the pills into the palm of her hand, closing her fingers into a fist around them.

"Pills," I demanded firmly when she looked to me. Her eyes flashed in annoyance – she detested when I used that tone of voice, and honestly I did too. It reminded me a little too much of my old ways, of the person I'd vowed I'd never regress to. But I grit my teeth and stood my ground, making a note to apologize to her later. "Now."

She held my stare for a few moments, glaring daggers that, again, would have been more menacing had she not looked as tired as she did. Finally she just huffed and popped them into her mouth, downing them with one large gulp of water.

Mrs. Fields's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm starting to think I made the right choice by calling you, Alison."

Emily rolled her eyes as I giggled, leaning against her chair and wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "Love you, babe." I whispered, nuzzling my nose against her cheek.

She hummed her agreement nonchalantly, taking a careful sip of her mug. I pouted when she wouldn't look at me, so I grabbed her face in my hands and planted a long kiss on her cheek, finally making her smile.

A car honked outside, and Mrs. Fields looked at her watch in alarm. "Oh! That's my cab. I have to go get my bags." She wiped her hands off hastily with the dish rag and threw us a smile. "You girls finish up here, I'll be right back."

I grabbed a chair and pulled my mug towards me as Mrs. Fields rushed upstairs. The first taste of hot chocolate in my mouth had me sighing in bliss. Emily's mom always made the _best_ hot chocolate. I remember spending winter nights over here while my parents were away on business. Mrs. Fields would always let us help bake the Christmas cookies while she made us our drinks. Then we'd sit by the fireplace and watch old Christmas specials, Emily and I dunking our cookies into each other's mugs. Even back then I'd known my relationship with Emily was special – I never did things like that with anyone else but her − but it took a good couple of years for me to understand why.

"I'm so glad you're here, Ali."

Emily was resting her head against the counter again, but she'd placed her cheek against the marble so she could look at me. She had dark circles under her eyes, her eyelids half closed with drowsiness, but even through her daze I could see relief in both her eyes and her smile.

I smiled in return, running my hand up and down her back soothingly. "There's nowhere I'd rather be, Em."

Emily snorted. "Yeah, give yourself an hour. You'll be begging to get out."

I leaned forward to press a kiss to her shoulder. "Never."

Hurried clacking of heals sounded through the kitchen before Mrs. Fields came back, two heavy bags in hand. Emily sat up, smirking as we watched her mom pat herself hastily to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything.

"I think you're good, Mom." Emily teased.

Mrs. Fields failed to pick up on her daughter's teasing as she absently nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'd better go." Rounding the kitchen counter, she placed a hand on Emily's shoulder as she turned to me. "There's a list of instructions for her medicine on the fridge as well as a few emergency numbers you can call should anything happen. I have Ashley Marin on call too, just in case you need any adult help."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Ali's not five, Mom. We'll be fine."

I bit back a laugh at Mrs. Fields's exasperated sigh. "Thanks, Mrs. Fields. I'll be sure to check the list once Emily's resting."

That seemed to calm her down, for she smiled and kissed the top of Emily's head. "Alright. I'll check in tonight to see how you're doing. I love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too, Mom."

After giving me a quick hug, Mrs. Fields adjusted her hold on her bags and ambled swiftly to the foyer. The draft that came in when she opened the front door made Emily shudder, but the relieved sigh my mermaid released had me stifling a snicker behind my hand.

"Thank God, she's gone." Emily breathed, dropping her head on to the counter again. "She's been driving me insane."

"Oh come on, she can't be that bad." I argued lightly, brushing her hair off her shoulder.

She turned her head to look at me, eyebrows raised. "My mother has been trying to give me sponge baths for the last week because she doesn't trust that I won't fall in the shower by myself, and she expects you to give me sponge baths too."

I laughed. Pam Fields was definitely something, alright. Give her a sponge bath when we have the house to ourselves? As if. Wagging my eyebrows suggestively, I trailed my index finger down her arm, raising goosebumps over her skin.

"I can give you much more than a sponge bath," I murmured softly.

Emily shuddered, her eyes fluttering as she let out a shaky breath. "I am _so _glad you're here."

"You know it, baby." I grinned, sliding off my stool so I could kiss her cheek.

As I took another sip of hot chocolate, I noticed Emily had barely touched hers, and when she yawned wide enough to swallow the mug whole, I realized what her body was asking for. "Wanna head back to bed?"

She nodded once, eyes half closed as she pushed herself to her feet. I grabbed her hand and led her upstairs, noticing with a pang of worry how slow and sluggish her movements were. This thing was hitting her body _hard_, and the cold weather was definitely not helping her.

Once we entered her bedroom, she wasted no time in heading straight to her bed and curling up under the mountain of blankets her mom had no doubt extracted from the depths of their attic. I slipped off my boots and slid in beside her, frowning when she didn't curl up to me like always.

"What are you doing?" I asked, watching her struggle to adjust her pillow comfortably.

"I don't want to get you sick," she explained. The fact that she understood what I meant without even looking at me made me smile.

I rolled my eyes, already scooting closer to her and pulling on her arm. "Don't be ridiculous." When she didn't budge, I tugged harder, throwing in a pout for good measure. "C'mere, you."

Emily sighed, her lips quirking up as if fighting back a smile. She closed the distance between us and laid her head on my chest, her arm coming up to wrap over my stomach while our legs tangled under the sheets. I instantly wrapped my arms around her, my hand going straight to her hair to run my fingers through her soft tresses.

"Mmmm, love you." she breathed sleepily.

I smiled into her hair, letting my lips press against the crown of her head. I loved spending moments like this with her, just cuddling under blankets listening to her sleep. It was always my favorite part of staying over with her. Don't get me wrong, making love to her was the highlight of every sleepover. But it was always the way we'd end up tangled in each other's arms that made my heart flutter happily just thinking about it.

"I love you too." I said. "Get some rest, sweetie."

Emily nodded into my chest, tightening her arm around me as she shifted. It barely took two minutes, but her breathing eventually evened out enough to let me know she was fast asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, I don't even know how to begin to apologize for how late this is. I've been trying to find time to write but it's literally been impossible, buuuuut I promise I'm not giving up on these stories! It may take me some extra time but I will continue updating. Now that I got this chapter out of the way I can work on the last chapter for On the Run, which I will post as soon as it's done! **

**Just in case I disappear again (which I will try not to), I'm using my bio as a way of communicating with you guys and letting you know what's going on. If I'm being held up for whatever reason I'll let you guys know! I will finish these stories and I have a lot of new ideas so I plan to keep writing, even if it takes me forever to update haha sorry guys. **

**Hope you like this new chapter! I didn't proof read it before posting so sorry for any mistakes/awkward language. I have to get back to studying, but let me know what you think! I love reading your reviews, and if you guys have any suggestions as to what you'd like to see in this story feel free to leave a comment or PM me! I don't really have a set plot line for this story so I can play around with it a lot more. **

**Sorry about the delay again! **

**Enjoy! xoxo **

_Zzzz. Zzzzz. _

My eyes opened with a jolt when I felt my phone vibrating on the bed. I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep. I'd been watching over Emily for a few minutes, running my fingers through her hair, and at some point I must have dozed off.

_How long have I been out?_

Z_zzz. Zzzz. _

I grabbed my phone, checking to make sure it hadn't bothered Emily. She'd turned over in her sleep, now laying on her side with her back to me. Something so casual like that would mean nothing normally, but Emily _never_ moved in her sleep, especially if I was in bed with her. She'd told me she wasn't sleeping well, so I had to figure out what was making my mermaid so restless so I could get her to sleep at least a few good hours.

_Zzzz. Zzzz. Zzzz. Zzzz._

My phone vibrating for the third time made me roll my eyes. The screen flashed four new text messages from Aria, Spencer, and Hanna, the last two being from the impatient blonde. Unlocking my phone made our group text pop up on screen.

**Aria: Let us know how Em's doing, Ali! **

**Spencer: Please! **

**Hanna: And if she needs anything!**

**Hanna: And my mom says to remind you that she's around if you need any help.**

Emily mumbled something softly and shifted under the blankets, my eyes immediately falling to her to watch for any sign of distress as my hands absently typed up a quick response to the girls. A few moments passed without her moving, so I let myself give the message I'd typed a quick once over before sending it.

**Me: Sure thing, girls. She went back to sleep once her mom left so I'll see how she's doing during the day. And thanks, Han. I'll let you know if she needs anything. **

Suddenly Emily whimpered and she sat up harshly with a gasp, eyes wide and alarmed, sucking in desperate, uneven breaths.

"Emily!" I cried, scrambling to sit up as her breaths quickly turned to deep, chest wrenching coughs. She twisted to face me quickly, her eyes calming down significantly once they landed on me even as her coughing continued. I cupped one of her cheeks in my hand as I ran the other up and down her back soothingly. "Breathe, baby, breathe. That's it, slow breaths, Em."

Her eyes stayed glued to mine as she tried to match my breaths, her coughs slowly but surely dying down. It took a few minutes but they finally stopped, leaving her panting with her eyes closed in exhaustion, leaning into my hand that was still on her cheek.

"Look at me baby," I urged quietly, cradling both of her cheeks when she looked up at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she panted, nodding carefully. I let my hands drop as hers reached up to rub at her eyes wearily, and it struck me how vulnerable she looked like this. "I'm – I'm fine. It was just a stupid nightmare again."

I felt myself frowning in worry. "Since when are you having nightmares?"

Emily laid back down against her pillow, curling up on her side facing me. "Mostly just this week. My mom says it's probably because of the fever."

Immediately I reached out and placed my palm against her cheek again, feeling her temperature. She was still warm, but her pills had brought the fever down considerably. "Is that why you haven't been sleeping?"

She nodded sleepily, turning her face into my hand and kissing my palm. "The nightmare wakes me up, but the coughing keeps me up a while."

I sighed dejectedly, bending down to kiss her forehead. She was never going to really get better if she didn't sleep, but if the fever was the main reason behind her insomnia then there wasn't much for her to do other than just ride it out.

"What time is it?"

I reached for my phone where it lay forgotten at the edge of the bed, hitting the home button so the lock screen would light up. "Almost ten thirty." Damn, I'd slept for almost two hours. Feeling my stomach grumble and figuring it was a good idea to get some food into Emily anyways, I threw the sheets off and swung my legs off the bed. "Do you want to stay in bed for a little while longer or do you want to come downstairs with me?"

Emily reached out for my hands and I helped pull her to a sitting position. "Downstairs. I've spent enough time in bed this week." She pushed herself to her feet and arched her back, stretching her arms above her head. "Give me a sec to change and go to the bathroom."

Nodding, I sat down at her window sill for a few minutes while she was in the bathroom, hearing the toilet flush and the sound of running water in the sink. Emily came out, looking slightly more refreshed and awake, and headed to her dresser to pull out a fresh set out clothes. She had her back to me as she yanked off her pajamas, standing only in her panties. My eyes traveled down her strong, bare back, over the curve of her underwear and down her long, lean legs, desire clenching in my stomach.

I smirked to myself, almost hearing Hanna's voice in my head should she know what I was thinking.

_God, Ali, the poor girl's dying over there. Keep it in your pants._

That thought sobered me up quickly. My poor girl _had_ been dying all week. She looked like she'd lost a little weight, and I remembered a conversation I'd had with her mom on Thursday when I'd come to visit, when she'd told me Emily had been basically skipping two, if not all, of her meals every day since the start of the week, and the little she did ingest was usually thrown up several hours later.

I had to get her to eat again, but first…

Pushing myself to my feet, I silently padded over to her. She was trying to decipher the tangled mess that was her shirt when I wrapped my arms around her naked waist. Her skin felt unnaturally hot against my cold hands and she shuddered at my touch, but I couldn't see her face so I couldn't tell if her goosebumps were fever-induced or Ali-induced, though hopefully the latter. I brushed her hair to the side, exposing her neck to me, and started trailing kisses down to her shoulder.

"Mmmm." Emily sighed, leaning into me.

I smiled against her skin as her head dropped back against my shoulder. It was crazy how responsive she was to my touches.

"As amazing as this feels," she breathed, making me pause. "I'm about two seconds away from kissing you senseless, and I don't want to get you sick."

I giggled, leaving one last kiss right behind her ear for good measure before stepping away. "Sorry, couldn't resist." I grabbed the shirt from her hands and started untangling it myself as I said, "Besides, any more of that and you'll catch pneumonia in this freaking cold."

Emily nodded her agreement even as she shivered while she pulled up her sweatpants. Finally I handed her back her shirt so she could quickly slip it on before throwing a sweatshirt over it. She turned to me, hands coming up to rest on my neck as she pressed a long kiss to my cheek, smiling against my skin as she nuzzled softly with her nose.

"That's the best I can do for now."

I smiled as she pulled back, brushing a lock of her hair out of her eyes lovingly. "You're more than enough for me, sweetie."

A deep shudder ran through her again, breaking our little moment. My brow creased in worry as I bit down on my lower lip, not liking how much this cold was affecting her. I pried one of her hands off my neck to lace our fingers together and pull her to the door.

"Do you need to bring anything downstairs?" I asked, suddenly thinking she might be more comfortable with actual pillows and her duvet.

Emily shook her head as we descended the stairs. "My mom basically set up a twenty-four hour day bed in the living room so it's fine."

Sure enough, as soon as we stepped into the living room I caught sight of the overflowing amount of blankets and pillows settled neatly on the couch.

"I think your mom didn't want us spending too much time in the bedroom," I said with a smirk, wagging my eyebrows playfully.

Emily laughed. "That's probably so true."

I brought our joined hands to my lips and kissed her fingers before nudging her to the couch. "You get settled in, I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" she pouted as she sat down.

"To the kitchen," I laughed, already half way out of the room. "You need to eat, babe."

Emily scrunched up her nose at that, shaking her head with an obviously fake shudder. "Ew. Please, no food."

"You need to eat, Em." I repeated in a firmer voice, raising an eyebrow challengingly.

"I'm really not hungry, Ali." she insisted, almost as a whine.

I sighed, rolling my eyes, choosing to ignore the issue now and save the argument for later. With a wave of my hand that told her I'd be back in a moment, I strolled to the kitchen and grabbed the list of instructions Mrs. Fields had left on the fridge for me.

_1.__Ibuprofen – morning and evening _

_** check temperature reading before giving her liquids _

_**thermometer is on the counter _

_2.__Decongestant – 1 a day, preferably at night _

_3.__Cough drops – when needed, in the fridge _

_4.__Antibiotic – 1 a day with meal (usually around lunch)_

_5.__Ear drops – if necessary follow directions _

_6.__FOOD! _

_**please make sure she eats as many meals as possible during the day to keep her blood sugar levels normal, if she skips she'll get dizzy and she'll try to hide it. _

_**lots and lots of fluids! Orange juice, smoothies, water…whatever she'll take. _

The amount of detail in this list of instructions had me chuckling to myself. "Geez, Em. Your mom OCD much?"

I heard her laugh from the living room. "What, you mean her list?"

I called out an "Uh huh" as I gave the list another once over. She'd already taken her morning pills so I just needed to get her to eat a decent meal before giving her the antibiotic. Getting her to eat, though – that would be the problem. I love my mermaid more than my life, but get us to disagree on something and we'd spend hours arguing if that was the case. Something I learned quickly about Emily during our relationship was how strong she'd become, and how freaking stubborn too.

I checked the time on the microwave. It was getting close to eleven already, so either breakfast or lunch could go well. Emily usually preferred a good breakfast over lunch, but I didn't want to go assuming anything since her messed up appetite was pretty unpredictable.

"Em?" I called hesitantly, mentally crossing my fingers, hoping she'd go along with me.

"Yeah?"

"Sweetie, do you want breakfast or lunch?"

I didn't hear a response right away, but I could imagine her sighing. "I really don't want anything right now, Ali."

With a frustrated groan, I placed the list back on the fridge and walked back to the living room. Emily had already settled comfortably on the couch, her body barely visible under the heap of blankets. I smiled despite myself because really, she couldn't look any more adorable if she tried. Emily's eyes landed on me as soon as I walked in and she sent me a weak smile. I sat down on the edge of the couch cushion by what I assumed were her hips and grabbed one of her hands in mine, holding it to my chest.

"Emily, I really need you to eat," I begged, widening my eyes in what I knew was my best pleading look. "For me, baby?"

The torn look on her face almost made me laugh. I knew she couldn't resist me when I looked at her like this, so I could practically see the internal battle raging inside her between her mind and her body.

"Don't do this to me, Ali." she pleaded.

I let myself laugh once, bringing the hand I was holding up to my lips for a kiss. "I have to, sweetie. The last thing I want is for your blood sugar to drop, and if it does, it'll be on me." My lower lip jutted out in a playful pout as I batted my eyelashes. "Please? I'll make your favorite French toast."

Surprisingly, she made a face and shook her head. "My mom tried making them for me last week and I barely got through half before I threw up."

_Damn_, that was my best shot. I bit the inside of my cheek as I ran through the list of Emily's favorite breakfast foods in my head. "Pancakes?"

"Ugh, no."

"Waffles?"

"Nope."

"Cereal?"

"Had it yesterday."

I raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"Twice."

I rolled my eyes. "Eggs?"

"God, no."

_Easy, Alison_. I closed my eyes for a moment, scrambling internally for patience. There had to be something, _anything_, for God's sake, that she would be willing to eat. I was tempted to let her have her way and just give her food whenever her body asked for it, but the memory of the last time her blood sugar levels dropped flashed before my eyes and quickly put that thought to rest.

That day had been a _nightmare_. She'd been up late studying for a Calculus exam the night before and overslept in the morning so she'd skipped breakfast. Then the swim coach called her in during lunch for an impromptu meeting before the big swim meet that afternoon and didn't give her time to grab any food. Hanna had to nearly shove a coffee down her throat as she was leaving for the swim meet, and she'd promised she would grab something on the way over. But apparently that never happened because Spencer got a call about an hour later from Paige, saying Emily had collapsed half way through the meet and needed us to come and get her. We had all been studying at Hanna's when the call came in, so the four of us packed into Spencer's SUV barely before the call was over.

The fact that Paige had been the one to call hadn't even bothered me, something that Hanna so nicely pointed out to me as we were on our way to the meet. I barely paid attention to her at the time since my mind was solely focused on Emily, hoping she was alright. Yet when we finally entered the meet and my eyes landed on Emily, surrounded by the swim team and _Paige_, who'd been stroking her hair and holding her up as Sydney fed her sips of her red Gatorade, I literally felt as if my head were about to explode. Spencer still talks about how the shade of red I turned was _far _from natural. But when Emily's eyes locked on me, every ounce of anger in me faded, and all I could focus on was how _fragile_ she looked. Her face had gone pale and she was shivering in eighty degree weather. Sure, we got some food into her and after a while she was fine, but after that day I promised myself I would never let that happen again.

Then it hit me. _Of course_. She hadn't been able to stomach anything particularly heavy so soon after she'd collapsed that day, so one of the parents that went to watch the meet had gone and bought her a Jamba Juice to get her back on her feet so she could leave and get some actual food. _God_, why hadn't I thought of this before?

"How about a smoothie?" I asked tentatively.

Emily's lips parted as if to speak but she paused, her eyebrows rising casually. "That doesn't sound too bad, actually."

_Finally. _I grinned. "Perfect. Your mom left everything, right?"

She looked at me pointedly. "You do know my mother, don't you?"

"Fair enough," I chuckled, leaning to kiss her forehead before standing up. "Sit tight, babe. I'll be right back."

I was half way out of the room when the doorbell rang. I turned to Emily who looked just as confused as I felt.

"I'm not expecting anyone." she said, brow knitted in confusion as she made to get off the couch.

"Don't get up," I told her. "I'll get it."

Strutting quickly to the door, I peered out the window before opening and caught a glimpse of a beige trench coat standing on the porch. I sighed in relief, thinking it was just one of the girls coming to check on Emily, so I swung open the door without hesitation yet instantly felt myself go stiff.

"Hi, is Emily – oh. Alison."

Clenching my fist behind my back, I did my best to give a tight lipped smile.

"Hi, Paige."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, it took me literally two years, but here it is - chapter 3! There's probably going to be just one more chapter, and I promise it won't take me another two years to write it. **

**As always, thank you for your continued support. Especially to those still following this story! A special thanks to Leapyearbaby29 for messaging me today and giving me the push I needed to finally finish this chapter. It's not the best nor the longest I've written, but I just wanted to get it out there. You guys have definitely waited enough. **

**Please read and drop a review if you so wish, I love seeing your thoughts and comments! **

**Enjoy! xx**

www

Alison struggled to paint on a sincere smile. As much as she had buried the hatchet with Paige (on her side at least), she still didn't enjoy the thought of her girlfriend having such a close relationship with her ex. Emily did her best to assure her every day – usually in _very _pleasurable ways – that everything she had with Paige was in the past, but Alison was a master at reading people, so she knew that even though Emily was clearly over the other brunette, Paige was far from it. And the fact that here she stood, having probably been ready to comfort and take care of Emily through her illness ignited a strong (and irrational, she knew) wave of jealousy and possessiveness in Alison that she did her very best to control. Because if she went full on Alison Dilaurentis right now, Emily would probably kill her.

"Hi, Paige," she greeted, cringing internally at how fake it sounded even to her own ears.

"Hi…" Paige frowned. "I – I'm sorry, I thought Emily was sick."

"She is," Alison replied, gritting her teeth at Paige's insinuation. As if she shouldn't be there – _please_. "Her mom's out of town and she asked me to watch over her while she's gone."

"Oh." Paige rubbed the back of her neck nervously, shuffling her feet on the spot in a way that made Alison's nerves stand on edge. "Pam didn't say she was going out of town when I spoke to her."

Alison's eyebrows shot nearly to her hairline. "Did you, like, call her?" The words came out before she could stop herself, and again she cringed at the hostility dripping in her tone.

"No," Paige defended hotly, eyes narrowing in a glare. "I ran into her at the store. She just said Emily was sick and told me I should stop by and say hi."

Alison bit the inside of her cheek to refrain from reacting; the blonde found it highly unlikely for Mrs. Fields to have given Paige an open invitation when she knew Alison was going to be in the house, but she said nothing, merely shrugging instead. "I don't know. She's been pretty focused on Em, she probably just forgot to mention it."

A hard silence fell between them, neither girl really knowing what to say to the other. Paige had probably expected to be invited inside, and she and Alison had definitely made some strides in their previously hostile relationship, but not _nearly _enough for Alison to live up to Mrs. Fields' invitation. Alison's inner bitch wanted her _gone_, yearned to tell her to get lost and slam the door in her face – but _no_. She had reigned in that bitch a long time ago and now kept her on a _very _short leash.

Mentally checking those inner restraints, Alison mustered up her sincerest tone of voice. "I don't wanna be rude or anything, but Em's really not feeling well. Maybe you could–"

"Paige?"

Alison inhaled sharply through her nose, her jaw clenching as Emily appeared beside her. The brunette's eyes flitted quickly between her ex-girlfriend standing sheepishly on her porch and her current girlfriend, clearly tense and uncomfortable with the interaction. Immediately Emily wrapped an arm around Alison's waist and tucked the blonde into her side.

Alison smiled softly at the gesture. A tiny thrill ran through her when she spotted Paige's eyes flickering to the hand that was currently rubbing the blonde's waist, but she was quick to smother the feeling, knowing it only led to bad places.

"Hey," Emily turned to Paige, smiling politely albeit in slight bewilderment. "This is a surprise."

"Y-Yeah, hey," Paige smiled, and Alison had to fight the instinct to roll her eyes at the blush that heated Paige's cheeks. "I just – I ran into your mom the other day and she said you were pretty sick. I-I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Oh." Emily blinked in surprise but recovered quickly and smiled. "Thanks. I'm a little better, I should be back in school soon."

The brunette's eyes fell on a small brown paper bag tucked in a tightly clenched fist. Alison frowned, not having seen it before, as Paige followed Emily's gaze and started, suddenly reaching into the bag and pulling out a plastic container. "Oh yeah, I brought you some soup. I remember your stomach couldn't really handle much when you got sick. I hope you still like tomato basil. I thought about bringing chicken noodle, but I remembered that time you –"

"Yes yes yes, no need to relive that." Emily cut in, and both girls shared a laugh as Emily took the container from Paige's hand.

Jealousy, pure and raw and _irrational _roared in Alison's chest as she watched Emily take the container with a surprised chuckle. Her own thoughts were at war; she was well and consciously aware of the fact that she had no reason to be jealous, this was a gesture Emily would make for any and all of her friends who needed her. And yet the fact that it was Paige who had gone through the trouble for Emily, Paige who was currently smiling at the brunette like a love sick puppy, made the blonde want to yank the arm right out of the girl's socket.

"You really didn't have to do this, Paige."

_No kidding. _

Paige shrugged, grinning sheepishly as she tucked her hands back into her coat's pockets. "It's alright, I wanted to. Wasn't any trouble at all."

A strong gust of wind tore through the open door, making all three girls shudder. Emily's teeth quickly started chattering, and Alison was quick to jump on the chance to cut this little gathering short.

"Baby, this cold isn't good for you," Ali said, letting her voice drip with sweetness as she pulled gently on Emily's arm. "You should come back inside."

The blonde noticed Emily's brow furrow at her tone of voice at the same time Paige's expression fell slightly at the pet name that slipped past Alison's lips, and she allowed herself a few moments to enjoy the satisfaction that coursed through her.

"Yeah Em, I don't want you to get any worse," Paige agreed, thankfully already backing away from the front door. "I'd better get going anyways."

"Thanks for stopping by, Paige," Emily waved

Alison closed the door, slamming it a little harder than was necessary, and placed all three locks on it for good measure. She was jealous and irritated and angry at herself for being jealous and irritated and all she really wanted was to get back to that place she and Emily were before Paige had come knocking.

Emily bit her lip, hesitant to reach out to Alison when the blonde was so obviously frazzled by their unexpected visitor. Still, she knew Alison, and she knew that making no effort at all would come back to bite her in the ass in the long run.

"Ali –"

"Go back to the living room," Alison said curtly as she brushed past the brunette. "I'll be there soon."

Emily sighed and watched as Ali disappeared into the kitchen, but eventually she did as she was told, the cold draft coming in from under the door reminding her that her fever would probably spike if she didn't get under the covers soon.

www

Alison returned not long after with a tall glass filled to the brim with a frothy, red liquid. Emily had settled down on the couch again and was staring blankly at the television when Alison walked in. The blonde smiled softly at how ridiculously cute she looked buried within the cushions, only her face visible among the blankets and pillows. Her smile morphed into a sad frown when Emily turned and met her gaze, and she could see the anxiety and concern swirling in her brown eyes.

Alison bit down on her lower lip, guilt and remorse coursing through her. She _hated _turning on Emily like that, hated the irrational jealousies and insecurities that led her to do it. Alison knew Emily loved her; there was not a single doubt in her mind about how the brunette felt about her. But there was always a part of her, a tiny part deep down inside her that wondered _how _Emily could love her as much as she did. That same tiny part would fuel her insecurities, feed fire to the flame that set a silent timer ticking down the moments until Emily would get tired of her and leave.

It was in those moments, when that tiny part of her brain took control of her rationality, that her 'old-school Alison Dilaurentis attitude', as Emily had so fittingly named it, would come out to play and god did she hate it.

No wonder everyone used to hate her too.

"Alison."

Emily's voice startled her out of her thoughts, the blonde moving from her spot in the middle of the room to place the glass in her hand on the coffee table. She sat down on the couch by Emily's feet, earning an odd look from her girlfriend, who nudged her hip with her toes and stuck out her hand from beneath the blankets.

"Ali, come here." Emily said softly, patting the empty space by her hip. When Alison scooted forward, she grasped her girlfriend's hand and their fingers together over her lap.

The blonde's teeth gnawed at her lower lip as she looked at her girlfriend shyly through her lashes. Emily smiled softly and reached up with her free hand, her thumb tugging Alison's lip from between her teeth. Alison sighed, her eyes fluttering at her girl's gentle touch as she kissed Emily's thumb softly.

"You know you have nothing to worry about with me and Paige – or anyone else for that matter – right?"

"Yes."

Emily titled her head too look into Alison's eyes. "Do you really?"

Alison nodded firmly. "Yeah." Because she _did_. "I just –" The blonde sighed heavily as she rubbed at her eyes in frustration. "I don't know _why _I get upset. I –"

"I love you." Emily blurted honestly.

Alison smiled, big and genuine. She cupped Emily's cheek in her hand, smoothing her thumb over the brunette's warm skin. "I know you do, baby." Her smile faded slowly, her eyes imploring Emily to understand. "I just…I get scared, Em." she admitted softly.

Emily frowned, grabbing the hand resting on her cheek and intertwining their fingers together as she pulled the hand onto her lap as well. "Of what?"

"It terrifies me," Alison swallowed hard over the lump forming in her throat. "To think that someday you might get tired of me."

"Ali –"

"I'm a lot to handle, Em. I know that." Alison smiled sadly. "I know being with me isn't easy…and it scares me, to think that someday you'll see someone else – maybe Paige, maybe someone new – and think it'd be easier to just…be with someone else."

"Alison," Emily grabbed Alison's face in her hands, not harshly but firmly, and tilted the blonde's face so their foreheads almost touched. "Loving you is the easiest thing I've ever done."

Alison smiled and turned her head, pressing a long kiss the brunette's palm.

"Relationships aren't easy," Emily continued. "I don't expect _this _to necessarily be easy. But it's _everything _I've ever wanted. _You're _everything I've ever wanted. That's not going to change for me. So please," Emily let her forehead drop, resting it against Alison's, her warm breath fanning over the blonde's lips. "Don't be scared. I'm so in love with you, Ali, I promise you, I can't see anybody else but you."

"I love you," Alison whispered honestly. "God, I'm so hot for you right now."

Emily chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure this flu makes me irresistible."

Alison grinned. "I want to kiss you so badly," she breathed, tilting her chin to let her lips brush against Emily's. Her mermaid's declaration had her aching to feel the brunette against her.

Emily turned her head slightly to the side, Alison's lips brushing against the corner of her mouth instead. The brunette chuckled again when Alison pouted. "I'm going to get you sick, Ali."

"I don't care," Alison breathed longingly. "Please, Em."

And because Emily could never deny her girlfriend anything, especially when it came to showing affection, she slid a hand into Alison's blonde locks and pulled the blonde towards her, letting their lips meet gently.

"Mmmm," Alison hummed happily, her hands gripping at Emily's sides as she sunk into the kiss.

They moved slowly together, a gentle meeting and retreating of lips, neither girl rushing. But then Alison's tongue swooped into Emily's mouth and the brunette inhaled sharply in response, and Emily suddenly had to wrench herself away from the kiss, turning her face away from Alison as she started coughing violently. Alison pulled away as if she'd been burned, her chest heaving for the same air Emily was struggling to breathe.

Alison reached behind Emily and slid her hand under the brunette's shirt to rub firmly over her back, cooing words of love and comfort. Eventually Emily's coughing slowed, enough for Alison to feel confident enough to gently push her girlfriend down against the pillows propped against her back.

"You okay?" Alison asked. She smoothed back Emily's hair and pressed a soft kiss to the girl's temple, frowning at the unnatural warmth she felt beneath her lips. "I'm sorry, baby, I shouldn't have done that."

Emily nodded and waved her hand dismissively, but squeezed her eyes shut against her sudden lightheadedness. "I'm fine. I'm – I'm just a little dizzy."

Alison reached for the smoothie left forgotten on the coffee table and held the glass against Emily's free hand, imploring the girl to drink. "You need to take the rest of your medicine, but you have to eat, Em."

Emily sighed, eyes still closed, and nodded reluctantly. She took the glass Alison offered her and took a long swig of the red liquid, opening her eyes to watch Alison's pleased nod.

"Good," Alison smiled and pressed another kiss to Emily's temple. "Do you want me to heat up the soup Paige brought you?" The words tasted bitter in her mouth and she had to remind herself it was for Emily's sake.

Emily smirked at the odd look that crossed Alison's face at the mention of Paige's name, but she appreciated the effort nonetheless. She curled a lock of blonde hair behind Alison's ear, letting her fingers brush against the blonde's smooth cheek in what she meant as a soothing gesture, and shook her head.

"I can't eat that," Emily said, and chuckled at the puzzled look Alison gave her.

"Why not?"

"Don't you remember when I got food poisoning a couple of months ago? I couldn't stop throwing up after I ate that –"

"Bad batch of tomato soup." Alison finished for her as she recalled the incident Emily was mentioning. "That's right, I forgot about that."

Emily laughed at the satisfaction that crossed over Alison's face as the blonde glanced at the unopened container of soup on the table. "I can't even smell tomato soup now without getting nauseous, but…"

Alison turned back to Emily expectantly as the brunette grinned shyly.

"I'd take some chicken soup if that's happening."

Alison smiled, thoroughly pleased, and nodded happily. "I can do that." She pecked Emily's cheek and patted the brunette's knee before standing up. "I'll be back in a bit. Yell if you need anything, okay?"

Emily smiled and watched the blonde head to the kitchen, once again grateful to have the most amazing girl in the world as her girlfriend.

www

_Four hours later. _

The thermometer started beeping, and Alison pulled it gently out of Emily's mouth. Her heart sunk to her stomach at the temperature reflected on the tiny screen, her eyes falling sadly to the shivering girl curled into her side. Emily had taken her medicine nearly an hour ago, there was no way her temperature should be _this _high.

"What it is?" Emily croaked.

"It's almost 105°." Alison sighed, and she pressed a long kiss to Emily's overheated forehead to soothe her next words. "We might need to consider a hospital, sweetie."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Well, this took a lot longer than expected. (Blame my heavy writing-based curriculum this semester lol). But here it is, the final chapter. I'll leave a little note at the end to wrap it up and make some announcements. **

**Enjoy! xx**

**Update: Thanks to everyone who let me know about the issues with the upload! I have no idea what's wrong with the website but wow, this was a bitch to fix. **

**x-x-x**

"Ali, I seriously can't."

"Come on, sweetie, just a _little _bit more?"

Emily laughed at the frustratingly adorable, puppy dog look Alison pulled on her. Her lower lip jutted out and blue eyes suddenly turned pleading, fluttering in the most innocent look she could muster. "Babe, I'm literally going to throw up if I eat any more."

Alison glanced down at bowl of soup Emily was pushing into her hand and sighed in defeat, dropping the spoon in her hand back into the nearly empty bowl. Even with some gentle coaxing, it had taken no less than an hour for Emily to nearly reach the bottom of the bowl Alison had given her. The last thing she wanted was to push Emily's boundaries too far, but the fact that the brunette had barely eaten in the last week was evident and weighed heavy on Alison's already worried conscience.

"Alright," the blonde finally conceded, placing the bowl on the coffee table.

"I ate a lot, though." Emily offered.

Alison chuckled. "Not nearly enough," she countered teasingly, leaning forward to press a kiss to her girl's forehead. "But yes. You did good, baby."

Emily sighed in relief and finally allowed herself to relax against the pillows propped up against her back. Alison rolled her eyes playfully at her girl's dramatics as she stood.

"Where are you going?"

The question was almost a whine and Alison couldn't help but laugh as she walked into the kitchen. She didn't bother throwing out an answer even as Emily called out her name, letting the girl wait the few moments it would take her to see for herself. She headed back in just as quickly, rattling a bottle of Emily's pills in her hand, but as she walked into the living room she nearly ran straight into the brunette as Emily made her own way out of the room.

"Can't be away from me for one second, can you?" Alison teased.

"Uh, sure…and also, I really have to pee." Emily replied with a cheeky grin.

Alison laughed softly. "Alright. Take two of these while you're at it." She put the pills in Emily's hand and closed the brunette's fingers around the bottle before she pulled the hand up to her lips and kissed Emily's knuckles.

Emily smiled at the gesture and nodded obediently. "Yes, ma'am." She kissed Alison's cheek and nipped at her jaw before she slipped around her and sauntered off to the bathroom.

Alison laughed again at the playful display as Emily disappeared up the stairs. "Someone seems to be feeling better." she called out loud enough for Emily to hear.

Alison grabbed the dirty dishes from the coffee table and headed back into the kitchen, opting to put them in the dishwasher instead of washing them herself as her stomach growled. She paused for a moment, considering the idea of eating the soup Paige had brought for Emily (Paige would no doubt get a kick out of _that_), but finally decided against it as the thought of Paige's intentions made her stomach churn unpleasantly.

"Don't get too excited." she heard Emily call back. "I usually feel a little better during the day and crash again at night."

"Well hopefully this is you actually getting better." Alison said as she opened the fridge and started pulling out ingredients to make herself a sandwich. She opened a random cupboard, looking for plates, pursing her lips as she was met with glasses and mugs instead. She reached for a glass and set it down on the counter as she moved to open the next set of cupboards, having to stand on the tips of her toes to reach the plates at the back of the cabinet. "It would really suck if –" Her balance shifted as she finally got her fingers wrapped around a plate and her free hand reached out to steady herself on the counter. Her hand swung out aimlessly to avoid tipping forward and collided with the glass precariously perched on the edge of the counter, sending it flying out into the air and to the floor with a loud crash, the glass splintering into shards that flew all over the kitchen floor. "_Fuck_."

"What happened?!"

In the distance Alison heard the bathroom door open and slam and quick footsteps pound down the stairs before Emily appeared around the corner, expression frantic.

Alison threw a hand out for her to stop, panic seizing her chest at the thought of Emily running through the shards of glass, and sighed in relief when the brunette immediately stopped in her tracks. "Don't come in. You don't have shoes on, I don't want you to step on anything and cut yourself."

Emily nodded, quickly surveying the damage from where she stood. Her eyes suddenly snapped up to Alison, scanning over the blonde's body. "Are you okay though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alison sighed, cursing under her breath at the mess. "Sorry about that, I had it down too close to the edge."

"It's fine, as long as you're okay. Let me go get the broom."

Alison waved her off. "You get back to bed. I'll handle this."

"Ali, I can –"

Alison threw a stern look. "Babe, it's fine. I don't want you overexerting yourself."

Emily wanted to argue, if only for the sake of arguing, but Alison's expression remained stern. Emily sighed, rolled her eyes in an expression she surely picked up from the blonde herself, and relented. "Fine. I'm going."

Alison waited for a moment until she heard the volume on the TV turn up before she turned to the mess at her feet.

"Fuck me," she groaned as she went to grab the broom.

**x-x-x**

Alison came back into the living room a little while later, sandwich in hand, to find Emily curled up in her previous position on the couch watching some old family sitcom on TV.

"Everything okay?" Emily asked.

Alison nodded as she plopped down onto the love seat. "Got it all cleaned up." She took a bite out of her sandwich as she rolled her eyes at herself, muttering as she chewed, "I'm such a klutz sometimes, I swear to God."

Emily chuckled fondly. It was only now in recent months that she had been able to start seeing Alison relax into herself now that she'd dropped the queen bee act for good, but every time felt like a new revelation. The blonde's true persona was finally coming out into the light and _god_, was it a sight to see. Alison was exactly the person Emily had always known she was deep down: beautiful, kind, and infinitely caring, and though they'd been in a relationship for months now, Emily still found herself in awe whenever she caught a glimpse of those sides of Alison she'd usually kept hidden.

"What?"

Realizing she'd been caught staring, Emily smiled softly before turning the expression into a playful pout. "You're too far away."

Alison chuckled, covering her mouth daintily as she finished chewing her mouthful. "I didn't want to get crumbs all over you."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "You've gotten a lot worse than crumbs all over me before."

Alison grinned, proud of her girl for the quick jab. "Touché." She finished her sandwich within a few more bites and brushed off any lingering crumbs as she stood.

Emily shifted onto her side as Alison slipped into the blankets next to her. When the blonde settled comfortably on her back, Emily curled into her side and nestled her head into the crook of Alison's shoulder, sighing as the blonde's arm wrapped around her.

"Better?" Alison asked, dropping a lingering kiss to Emily's hair.

"Mhmm." The brunette nodded, letting her attention fall back to the TV as they settled into a comfortable silence.

It was a few minutes later when Alison glanced down and caught Emily's eyes fluttering, struggling against the fatigue that was no doubt overwhelming her body. Her eyes would close for the briefest of moments before she'd catch herself and snap them open again, blinking groggily at the TV.

Alison's lips quirked in amusement as she pressed her lips to the girl's forehead. "Tired?"

"Little bit," Emily murmured, the exhausted evident even in her voice.

"Take a nap," the blonde offered. "I'm not going anywhere."

Emily sighed deeply, a quiet "okay" breathed in there somewhere, and soon enough her warm breaths steadied enough for Alison to know she was fast asleep.

**x-x-x**

_Two hours later _

Alison groaned quietly as she stretched as best as she could with Emily curled into her side. She'd been out for a good few hours, time that Alison spent comfortably catching up on the novelties that had been added on Netflix. She couldn't remember the last time she'd watched so much uninterrupted TV now that her schedule was so busy between normal school and trying to catch up on her credits to graduate with the girls. Granted, many of her dates with Emily were spent in front of the television, but usually they'd be quick to lose interest in whatever they were watching once hands began to wander under the blankets.

With a huff, Alison carefully pried the blankets off her body, the blonde having grown uncomfortably hot under the layers of warmth. Emily had started shivering in her sleep a few minutes ago, so she was mindful to keep the brunette wrapped up in the sheets, though how Emily could still be cold was a mystery to her. She was literally _sweating_.

"Ali."

Alison grimaced to herself, thinking she'd woken the brunette with her shuffling. She ran her hand through Emily's hair, shushing her softly. "Go back to sleep, Em. I'm sorry I woke you."

"You didn't." Emily shook her head, her voice low and rough.

Alison twirled a lock of Emily's hair around her finger absently, her eyes glued to the TV as the end of the episode played out on screen. "Did you sleep well, baby?"

There was a moment where Emily paused, and Alison could feel her breaths fanning across her neck as the brunette breathed in deeply.

"Ali, I don't feel well."

Alison's head snapped around instantly, the television now forgotten as she glanced down at her girlfriend. "What is it, baby? What do you feel?"

Emily's eyes drooped, every blink seeming as if it was taking her whole effort to open them again. She swallowed hard as her eyes struggled to focus. "I d-don't know. I –"

Alison sat up, careful not to jostle Emily too much as she untangled herself from the brunette's arms. "Em, look at me." She reached out to cradle Emily's face in her hands and reeled back in shock when she made contact with the girl's skin. "Holy _shit_."

The brunette was _literally_ burning up. With a closer look, the blonde could see the flush tainting Emily's face, the girl's tanned skin tinted pink from the heat emanating from her own body. Alison ran her hands over Emily's face and neck, partially in shock because holy _shit_, she'd never felt a fever like this before.

"Your hands feel nice," Emily sighed, eyes fluttering under Alison's touch.

"You've got one hell of a fever, Em." Alison said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "I'm going to go get the thermometer, okay?"

Emily nodded. "It's in the kitchen."

Alison would have sprinted to the kitchen had she allowed herself to panic, but she took it in stride for Emily's sake and strode as calmly as she could manage, quickly grabbing the thermometer from behind the stack of pills Mrs. Fields had left for Emily. She had to bite her tongue to ward off the dread building in her chest as she watched Emily shiver violently as she came back into the room.

"Here we go," She sat down at the edge of the couch, holding the thermometer to the brunette's lips. "Open up."

Eyes still closed, Emily parted her lips just enough to let Alison slip the thermometer into her mouth and under her tongue. Alison let her hand linger for a moment, making sure the thermometer would hold, before pressing both palms to Emily's overheated cheeks, running her cooler hands gently over the contours of her face and neck. Emily hummed softly in gratitude.

Alison smiled fondly and murmured, "You're going to be okay, hmm? Just hold on."

The thermometer started beeping after a moment, and Alison pulled it gently out of Emily's mouth. Her heart sunk to her stomach at the temperature reflected on the tiny screen, her eyes falling sadly to the shivering girl curled into her side. Emily had taken her medicine nearly two hour ago, there was no way her temperature should be _this _high.

"What it is?" Emily croaked.

"It's almost 105°." Alison sighed and pressed a long kiss to Emily's overheated forehead to soothe her next words even as her own chest tightened. "We might need to consider a hospital, sweetie."

"No," Emily's eyes widened, her voice surprisingly strong. "No hospital. I'm fine, I don't –"

"_Em_," Alison's voice was sharp, her stress beginning to get the best of her. She paused and took a deep breath. Emily would freak out if she started to panic and she needed the brunette calm if she wanted her to get better. "This fever is so not normal, babe, I am _way _out of my league here."

"Call Mrs. Marin," Emily suggested. "Or Spencer, or _Jason_. I don't know, but _please _don't take me to the hospital."

Alison knew Emily hated hospitals – they'd all been in so many throughout the years dealing with A that the brunette had come to develop an aversion that was borderline pathological. But this flu was clearly getting out of hand and honestly Alison didn't see much choice. Though calling Mrs. Marin was a good idea – she remembered Mrs. Fields saying she'd left the number for any emergencies somewhere in the kitchen. Maybe Hanna's mom would have something that could help – or at least something that would buy them some time and keep Emily from going to the hospital right away.

"Okay," she agreed. "Let me call Hanna's mom."

Alison reached for her phone on the coffee table and went to stand up to get the number from the kitchen, but a warm hand on her arm stopped her in her tracks.

"Just call Hanna." Emily croaked. "She said she was going to be home today."

Alison eyed her warily, wondering if it was another ploy to keep the hospital out of their plans, since Hanna would probably sympathize with her and keep the hospital as a last resort – but as Emily's grasp on her arm tightened and her eyes fluttered closed against the heaviness of her eyelids, Alison realized the brunette was just trying to keep her close for comfort. Her heart ached at the thought of how horrible Emily must be feeling, all suspicion vanishing from her head as she reached out and stroked the back of her hand over Emily's cheek.

"Okay." Alison murmured. With a swipe of her thumb she unlocked her phone and quickly dialed Hanna's number, distracting herself by running her fingers through Emily's hair as the phone rang. Just when Alison expected the voicemail to cut in, Hanna's voice cut through the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Hanna." Alison cleared her throat at the greeting, her heart suddenly starting to race as she grew nervous. What if Mrs. Marin said something worse was wrong with Emily? "I-is your mom there?"

"Yeah, she's here. She's – _no, _Spencer. I am _not _going through that one more time. We've got that chapter covered."

"Spencer's there too?" Alison perked up at that. Spencer, not surprisingly, knew quite a bit about medicine – more than any normal high school senior should know, anyways. Maybe she'd be able to say why Emily's fever had spiked.

"Yeah, she came to study for the Chem test. She's obsessing over chapter 4 when there's a _whole _two chapters left to cover." Hanna's voice was beyond annoyed, no doubt speaking pointedly at Spencer on the other line, and Alison could just picture the blonde rolling her eyes.

"Because you keep saying acidification for oxidation, Hanna." Spencer's voice sounded from the back. "If you don't have that term down, you're going to flunk."

"I _know _what it means, I just mess up the word. You don't –"

"Hanna. _Hanna_." Alison snapped, seeing where this little exchange was going. "Can I talk to your – actually, no. Can you put me on speaker?"

"Yeah, sure." A quick shuffling came through the speakers before Hanna spoke again. "Okay, you're on speaker. Mom, Ali wants to – wait. Is Emily okay?"

"No," Alison breathed as she glanced at Emily. "That's the thing. Her fever spiked out of nowhere and it's _really _high."

"How high is high?" Mrs. Marin's asked, having joined the conversation.

"104.6°." Alison answered, chewing her lip in worry.

"Oh, shit." Hanna exclaimed.

"Hanna," Mrs. Marin scolded, before her voice turned soft. "Has she taken anything for it today?"

Alison glanced at her watch. "She took a dose about two hours ago, I think. And she's been sleeping since then."

"Hmmm…that's – no. That's not normal at all." Mrs. Marin's voice sounded concerned, much to Alison's worry. "If it was going to spike regardless, the medicine should have kept it from going that high. Has she been outside lately? Her defenses are probably low – the cold might have spiked the fever."

"Not really." Alison said, her eyes glancing towards the doorway as she thought back during the day. "I mean, she was by the front door for a little bit when Paige stopped by, but that was only for a few minutes."

"_Paige _stopped by?" Hanna inquired eagerly. "Oh, that must have been fun."

"Shut up, Hanna." Spencer hissed as Alison rolled her eyes. "The draft might not have been any good for her, but I don't see how that would be enough to spike her fever like that. Has she been moving around a lot? Maybe she overexerted herself or something. Expending too much energy can aggravate her symptoms if she's not careful."

"I don't think so…she was feeling a little better earlier so she did move around a little more than usual but nothing extreme. I made sure she laid down again pretty quickly."

"Honestly, it doesn't really matter why it spiked." Spencer replied. "But you'll have to take her to the hospital if it keeps rising. It's already dangerously high."

Alison bit her lip. "I know, that's what I thought."

"Well, not necessarily." Mrs. Marin countered. "Hanna went through something like this when she was little. You can keep her home as long as you keep her fever down."

Alison sat up at that, suddenly desperately anxious for information. "And how do I do that?"

"See if Pam has any cold compresses in the bathroom."

Alison carefully stood up from the couch, shooting Emily a smile when the brunette's eyes fluttered open. "I'll be back in a second, baby." She bent down and kissed the brunette's head before she hurried towards the stairs. "Where should I put the compresses?"

"Grab a few if you can find them." Mrs. Marin answered. "Put one on her forehead and one on the back of her neck. That should help at least keep the fever from rising, but I wouldn't go past giving her another dose of ibuprofen."

"Okay." Alison took the stairs two at a time and reached the bathroom door in three quick strides. "And if that doesn't –" Her voice cut off as she switched on the bathroom light and caught sight of the countertop. By the sink, next to their toothbrushes, was the uncapped bottle of medicine Alison had handed Emily earlier. Two green pills sat next to it, clearly left forgotten. "Oh, I'm going to kill her."

"What?" all three women on the phone asked.

"She didn't take the pills." Alison inhaled deeply as a conflicting mixture of relief and frustration rose in her body, the urge to throttle her girlfriend suddenly fierce and quite feasible. "Oh, she's so dead."

"Remind me never to let you take care of me," Hanna joked as she snorted.

Spencer chuckled along as she said, "That explains a lot though. She didn't have anything fighting the fever so the cold and the expended energy probably just set it into gear again. Just give her three ibuprofen instead of two and she'll probably be fine."

Alison sighed as she leaned against the sink, almost weak with relief. "Thank God."

"Well, I wouldn't quite say that." Mrs. Marin added. "Spencer's right, you should give her a higher dose but I would try to get that fever down as quickly as possible. What I used to do when Hanna was sick was put her into lukewarm baths to bring down her body temperature."

"Oh God, I remember that." Hanna quipped in a disgusted tone.

"She won't enjoy it," Mrs. Marin continued, her voice turned amused. "But it'll be effective. Between that and the ibuprofen, she'll be just fine. Just make sure she keeps taking her medicine every couple of hours so she doesn't regress."

"Thank you," Alison breathed. "Seriously, thank you so much. I was about to freak out here."

"No problem, Alison." Mrs. Marin said warmly. "Let me know how it goes, and call me if you need anything else."

"Thank you, Mrs. Marin." Alison said wholeheartedly.

"Hanna and I are making reviews for the Chem test," Spencer said. "We can drop it by tomorrow if you guys want."

"Seriously, Spencer." Hanna groaned. "Emily's, like, dying over there. I seriously doubt she'll want anything to do with Chemistry anywhere near her."

"I'm just _saying_," Spencer said, exasperated. "She'll probably want to catch up at _some _point."

Alison smiled fondly with a roll of her eyes. "She'll appreciate that, Spence. Thank you. I'll text you guys later, okay?"

"Sounds good. Let us know how she's doing." Hanna answered.

"Bye, girls."

**x-x-x**

Emily's eyes fluttered open as Alison sat down on the edge of the couch, glass of water in one hand and three pills in the other.

"What did Mrs. Marin say?" Emily mumbled.

Alison shot her a displeased look as she placed the pills into Emily's hand. "You're an idiot."

Emily blinked in surprise. "Why?" Her fingers curled around the pills in her hand, and as she brought them to her mouth without question she froze, realization dawning on her face. She closed her eyes momentarily and sighed, mumbling, "Shit" before she glanced at Alison guiltily.

"Yeah. Shit." Alison replied dryly.

Emily groaned under her breath as she popped the pills into her mouth and downed them quickly with the water Alison had brought. "I heard the glass crash and I ran out, I totally forgot to take them."

"I realized," Alison drawled.

"I'm sorry," the brunette murmured honestly, and all of Alison's irritation dissipated at the regretful expression on Emily's face.

Alison's expression softened. "At least there's a logical explanation," she said as she kissed Emily's forehead. "No need for any hospitals today."

"Good," Emily sighed, her eyes falling shut again. "So what, I just keep taking the medicine and I'll be fine?"

Alison bit the inside of her cheek, knowing Emily wasn't going to like what was about to come. Emily caught the moment of hesitation and opened her eyes, her expression as wary as her body would allow.

"Not exactly." Alison replied slowly.

**x-x-x **

"Please don't make me do this." Emily whined from where she leaned against the door

Emily's pathetically weak tone tore at Alison's heart, but the blonde knew she couldn't budge. This was the only way of truly getting Emily out of going to the hospital. Alison finished setting the water temperature and turned to her girl, reaching to pull Emily into her arms.

"I'm sorry, love, I have to." Alison murmured softly, dropping a kiss to the side of Emily's head as her hands slid down to grasp the bottom of the girl's shirt. "Your fever's way too high, but I promise it'll be quick, okay? Just long enough to get your fever down."

Emily whimpered but didn't fight her as Alison pulled her shirt over her head. The bathroom's slightly cooler, humid air made her shiver violently as Alison stripped her of her layers until she stood bare before her. She had to wrap her arms around herself as her teeth began to chatter, her body instinctively leaning into Alison's for warmth.

"I-I thought the ibuprofen would take c-care of that."

"Not fast enough," the blonde replied with a sad smile.

Alison reached out to yank the curtains aside and hesitated at the last moment, an idea popping into her head. Maybe she could make this a little easier for Emily, even if she had to suffer a little in the process.

"W-what are you d-doing?" Emily asked, brow furrowed in confusion as Alison began to strip.

Alison pulled off the rest of her clothes and kicked them aside as she pulled the shower curtain open. "Trying to make this a little better for you." She pulled her hair up into a quick, messy knot before she stepped into the shower.

"You're a masochist." Emily muttered as she climbed in after her, and Alison almost laughed at the dumbfounded look on the brunette's face.

"Like that's anything new," she replied teasingly.

Alison grabbed Emily by the waist as the brunette closed the curtains and slowly started pulling her under the spray. She grit her teeth as the water hit her back - the water was lukewarm, nothing like the liquid ice that poured from the normal faucet now during the winter, but it had her cringing from the cold as her skin was only ever used to the steaming hot water she'd use in her showers.

Emily whined as the overflow pouring down Alison's body started wetting her own overheated skin. She lurched away on instinct, but Alison's hands on her waist kept her firmly in place.

"_Ali_," Emily whimpered.

"I know, baby, I know." Alison murmured. She wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist, pulling her flush against her chest as she craned her neck to the side, letting more of the spray hit Emily's body while keeping her hair out of the water. Emily's skin felt like literal fire compared to the tepid water cascading down her back, the contrast steeling her resolve to do this even as her girlfriend continued to whimper in her arms.

"It'll get better," Alison soothed as she ran her hands over Emily's back. "Focus on me, okay? Just feel me, Em. It'll get better soon."

**x-x-x **

The shower turned out to be every bit the struggle Alison had imagined it would be. Emily had squirmed and whimpered and cried as Alison grew colder and colder under the water, but eventually the brunette's body grew accustomed to the temperature and she settled comfortably into the spray, letting her body come back down to its normal temperature.

Alison had gotten them both out of the shower after a while and she made sure to dry Emily off as much as possible before they both slipped on their warmest clothes and Alison tucked an exhausted Emily into her bed, the brunette undoubtedly needing rest after the strain the fever had put on her body.

The blonde had then let Emily sleep while she had gone downstairs to tidy up. She'd taken the time to order delivery as their dinner and had stored the food away for that evening, finally trudging upstairs and collapsing next to Emily as the day finally caught up with her. She didn't sleep, however, too worried that somehow the fever would spike again or something else would go wrong and Emily would regress. Instead, she busied herself with her phone, texting the girls an update on the day and scrolling through her social media as she kept a close eye on the slumbering girl beside her.

It was finally towards the late afternoon when Emily stirred. Alison could feel nothing but relief as Emily rolled towards her, looking alert and much more herself than she had a few hours before.

"Feeling better?" she asked as she let the phone drop onto the bed. She shifted onto her side, letting her head rest on the same pillow as Emily's as they faced each other.

Emily groaned softly as she stretched her limbs. "Much."

Alison couldn't help but smile at the cuteness in the act. She reached for the girl and cupped Emily's cheek, letting her hand run over the smooth skin down to her neck and slip slightly under the neck of Emily's shirt to feel the cool skin of her chest.

"Cool as a cucumber," she finally declared, Emily snorting her amusement in response.

"I'm sorry I forgot to take the ibuprofen," Emily repeated, her eyes falling shut in contentment as Alison started running her hand through brown hair. "That was really stupid of me."

"I won't argue with that," Alison teased, smiling at the wry look Emily shot her way. "I'm just glad you're okay. You really scared me there."

Emily's expression softened. "I'm sorry." She grabbed Alison's hand and pulled it to her lips, pressing a firm kiss to the blonde's palm. "You didn't look scared, if it makes you feel any better. You seemed pretty calm."

Alison scoffed. "That goes to show how out of it you were. I was _far _from calm."

"I'm serious." Emily smiled. "You're really good at taking care of people."

The blonde snorted in disbelief. "Yeah, right." She curled a lock of brown hair behind Emily's ear and stroked her fingers down Emily's cheek. "I'm just good with the people I care about."

"I guess makes me one of the lucky ones." Emily teased, chuckling when Alison shoved at her shoulder playfully, though they both knew there was nothing but truth behind that statement. Her expression turned earnest as she gazed into Alison's eyes. "Thanks for taking care of me, Ali."

Alison smiled genuinely. "Always, baby." She leaned forward to kiss Emily's forehead, but the brunette tilted her head back and caught Alison's gaze before her eyes fell to her lips.

The blonde caught the insinuation and smirked. "What happened to not getting me sick?"

"It's definitely too late for that," Emily replied, teasingly solemn, but the smile playing at the corners of her lips pulled any seriousness out of the statement.

Brown eyes flickered between crystal blue orbs and pink, plump limps, until Alison's smirk finally shifted into a fond smile and she gave in because honestly, she could never deny the brunette anything. The love and want she saw in those brown eyes never failed to make her go weak - it was always there, a love unlike any other she'd ever experienced offered to her on a silver platter; a love that, though a heavy statement to say at their age, she was sure she never wanted to experience with anyone else. They both sighed as their lips met, the kiss nothing but gentle sips of each other's lips as they parted and retreated, always going back for more.

"I love you," Alison murmured into the kiss. Her heart leaped and fluttered like it always did when Emily kissed her harder and whispered her love in return.

**x-x-x **

_A week later _

Emily pushed out into the hall as the bell signaling the end of first period finished ringing. Through the crowd of students flooding into the hallway, she spotted Aria and Spencer walking to join Hanna by the blonde's locker. Emily shifted her backpack higher on her shoulder and made her way over to join them, frowning as she realized Alison was nowhere in sight. She hadn't heard from her that morning but Emily had just assumed she'd been running late.

"Hey, Em." Aria greeted.

"Hey," Emily smiled. "Have you guys seen Ali?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Spencer said. "She wasn't in History just now."

"I'd assumed you'd both skipped first period," Hanna added, her attention on the mirror in her locker as she fixed her hair.

Emily gave her an odd look. "You saw me this morning, Hanna."

Hanna froze for a moment, confusion settling over her face before she quickly brushed it off and shrugged. "I don't know, whatever. Call her and see where she is."

Emily rolled her eyes, tuning out the rest of the conversation as she pulled out her phone to do just that. She dialed Alison's number and turned towards the hall, scanning over the crowd to see if she could catch any sight of her girlfriend.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded low and raspy, odd enough to make Emily glance at the screen to double check she'd called the right number. "Alison? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm at home." The speakers crackled as loud coughing boomed through the line. "Dying."

"You're sick?"

Alison sniffled loudly. "I'm dying."

Emily pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile at her girlfriend's dramatics. "Why didn't you call me?"

"You've missed enough class already, Em," the blonde croaked. "I knew you'd skip if I called you."

"Is there anyone there with you?"

There was a pause on the line where Alison hesitated, telling Emily everything she needed to know.

"I'm coming over."

"No, Em, it's fine." Alison insisted.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Ali –"

"Seriously, I'm fine. My dad left me with some medicine and water before he left and Jason said he'd come back with food later. Don't leave school."

Emily sighed. She knew Alison was right. She'd missed enough classes to have fallen slightly behind – any more and she'd risk having her grades drop – but she didn't feel right leaving Alison to fend for herself. Her family was the last people she trusted to take care of Ali.

"Fine, I'll stay until lunch." she finally relented. "I can leave then, I have a free period after."

More coughing rung through the phone before Alison finally spoke. "Okay."

"Text me whatever you think you'll need and I'll stop by the store to pick it up on my way over."

"Thanks, baby. Love you."

Emily smiled. "I love you too. Feel better, okay? I'll see you soon." She hung up the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket, already making a mental list of the things she should by before stopping by Alison's.

"Was that Ali?" Aria asked as Emily turned back to them. "What did she say?"

"She's at home, sick."

All three girls exchanged a knowing look before Hanna snorted as she closed her locker. "I wonder why."

**x-x-x**

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who very patiently kept up with this story despite my lack of updates, but hey. I promised I'd get it done and I did! Now, on to the next one!**

**I'll be working on the second one shot for that three-shot series. It's a Christmas one-shot, so I'll be trying as HARD as I can to get it finished and uploaded by Christmas. Then the third one-shot to finish that off, maybe a random one shot here and there, and finally a little something I'm just starting to cook up. I haven't written anything with an actual plot in so long, I want to get back into it. I won't say much yet, it's still in its very very beginning stages, but you guys will hopefully enjoy it.**

**Thanks for reading my random ramblings! Drop a review and let me know what you thought, and, as always, I'll be back soon!**


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